


The Joshler/Bandom High School Musical AU That NO ONE Asked for

by knewitcouldbedun



Category: All Time Low, Bandom, Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, Panic! at the Disco, Twenty One Pilots
Genre: :D, Alternate Universe - High School, Boys Kissing, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Mentions of past verbal abuse, Past Child Abuse, Singing, gay shit, hell yeah, take that disney, to spice it up from disney
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-21
Updated: 2016-07-30
Packaged: 2018-07-25 18:56:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7544086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/knewitcouldbedun/pseuds/knewitcouldbedun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>No one asked for this. I was waiting for someone to do this and no one stepped up man so I have to do it myself. This is gonna be one hell of a shit show so if you're tuning in have fun navigating the inner workings of my fandom brain.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Intro (waddup dorks)

okay hey hey hey wHO NEEDS SLEEP ??? it'ns not like I'm gonna be in charge of 30+ kids at waterworld tomorrow from 9-5 ??? who the fuck needs sleep for easy carefree shit like that ??? who needs time for sleeping when I could be..... STARTING THIS GAWKDDAM k here we go ready 4 ragret

 

 

 

 

     It's New year's Eve, Josh never really thought much of it, if you were with friends at a party there was too much booze and general trashy-ness, if you were with family it was generally pretty boring -- save for an endless onslaught of questions from relatives about 'how school's going' 'are you dating anyone' what are you doing to do with your life' Bad. Gay. Read. He wishes he could just wear a hat with all the answers on them already, so he wouldn't have to look up from his book to answer them again and again and again.

 

     Tragically this New Year's Eve, Josh managed to find himself in a strange parallel universe where those two worse case scenarios had fused together into one giant boring/trashy/peers/family  _mess._ This is how Josh is currently sitting on a questionably odored couch, book in hand, surrounded by weird older people that he's never met, while his mom stands over him before reaching down and unceremoniously snatching the novel from Josh's thoroughly annoyed fingertips.  _Happy Freaking New Year._

 

"But Mom I'm almost finished," Josh whines as Laura tucks the book under her arm, and gives her wonderful introverted son a pleading look,

 

     "Sweetie, it's a  _teen_ party, and although you are still my little boy," (Josh rolls his eyes lovingly), "You are in fact a teenager. So go get changed young man, and get out there, I laid out some clothes in your room."

 

   "If I go can I at least get my book back?" Josh asks, deploying his failsafe puppydog eyes that he was blessed with from his dad, they could both work it like a charm.

 

     "Fine, but please for the love of New Year's, actually  _interact_ with another human being your age?" Josh nodded as he cracked a small smile, and he saw the look of amusement in his mother's eyes as he tucked his book back under his arm, and walked down the hall to the ski lodge elevators.

 

     Scanning his card with great difficulty, Josh finally got into the room he was just going to have to pack up in the morning, his mom had indeed laid out a pretty cheesy outfit on his bed; black jeans, a short sleeved dotted button up, and even a little red and white bowtie. Honestly it was a wonder his mother didn't suspect he was gay given the ensemble she had put together.

 

     Josh changed fast and raked a comb through his dark brown hair, running back out the door making sure he had his book with him. In all honesty he was fully planning on just finding a relatively quiet corner of the party to curl up and attempt to block out the noise. Josh stepped out of the elevator, and walked down the hall, nose already buried in his book, and he thinks he faintly hears the squeaking of sneakers and the pound of a basketball, but he's falling back into the world of his book and pays no attention to it as he walks back into the shitty party.

 

 

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

 

     Tyler barely even knew it was New Year's Eve. All he knew was that he was going left.  _Left,_ right?

 

     "Am I going left?" Tyler pants, the leather of the basketball felt familiar and  _right_ in his sweaty hands,

 

     "Yeah. He looks middle? You take it downtown," right behind him his dad stands guarding his shot, Tyler takes a breath before exploding into motion as he breaks hard to the left, stepping back slightly to give himself more room to shoot as he jumps up, and sails the ball through the hoop.

 

     "Just like that Tyler, I wanna see that in the game, you hear me?" Tyler nods as his dad claps his hand on his back,  _proud_ of him and what he's going to accomplish this season. They're more than eager to run more plays when they both just then notice that Tyler's mom is standing, foot tapping, at the entrance to the ski lodge gym.

 

     "Boys, did we  _really_ fly all the way up here, just to play more  _basketball_?" His mom asks, giving them both questioning looks as they look at each other before answering honestly,

 

     " _Yeah_ "

 

     Kelly rolls her eyes as she tries to get through to her lovely basketball obsessed boys,

 

    "It's New Year's Eve, remember? The party? Get back to your room and shower up,"

 

     "Mommmm that party's for little kids," Tyler complains, unfortunately his mother took no shit from him or his dad, and he quickly gave up any attempt at arguing with her, instead he put the ball back on the rack and headed back to his room to shower

 

     Despite wanting nothing to do with this party, Tyler showers pretty quickly, pulling on a pair of boring pants with a dumb shirt and blazer he heads back down to the same floor, passing the gym with one last look of deep longing before stepping into the party.

 

     He could see some kids a little younger than him up on stage singing some mediocre karaoke,  _lame,_ he thought as he moved farther into his own personal hell.

 

 

     Josh laughed as a crazy girl with a cowboy hat passed him, blowing loudly into a party favor, as he sat down on the closest chair he could find and opening his book. The karaoke song ended and a knockoff Ryan Seacrest looking man hopped up on stage to usher the couple off,

 

     "Not bad for some snowboarders, am I right?" he cheesed as the partygoers clapped earnestly, "Who wants to rock the house next?"

 

     At this note there was a general lack of enthusiasm as Tyler leaned against a pillar near the stage watching passively. That was until a blinding spotlight is shined right into his eyes, the crowd erupting in "ooooohs" and whistles as Tyler just blinked in shock at the sudden attention as people start pushing him towards the stage.

 

     Josh was much more alarmed by the sudden glaring light, having been deeply engrossed in his book, he jumped and looked around confused as partygoers just apparated out of nowhere to pull him up and shove him on stage next to an equally unenthusiastic looking boy. The party host jumped up on stage with them, handing Josh a microphone as he leaned over to Tyler,

 

     "Hey, you know what? Someday you guys might thank me for this!" He shoved the other mic into Tyler's shaking hand before adding, "or not."

 

     Tyler tried to look over to the boy next to him, but he had his eyes glued to his feet and his arms crossed around his chest like a human straight jacket. A sappy piano intro began over the speakers as the gravity and inevitable embarrassment of the situation began to take hold of Tyler's mind. Looking up just in time to catch the first lyrics on the screen Tyler shakily began to sing,

 

     " _L-living in my own world,"_ at the first line Tyler was already cringing about how out of time and insecure his voice sounded, but he knew he was in too far now as he sang the next lines,

 

     " _Didn't understand,_

      _that anything can happen,_

      _when you take a chance"_

 

    Glancing over briefly Tyler caught a glimpse of the other boy looking over at him shyly, glad his part was over for now Tyler turned around to try and gather himself before hearing what he honest to God believed was a thousand angels singing as one,

 

     " _I never believed in,_

      _what I couldn't see"_

 

     Turning around in utter disbelief Tyler watched as the short-ish boy sang hesitantly into the mic,

 

     " _I never opened my heart-"_

 

     " _Oh"_ Tyler adds, looking over to try and comfort the boy who was clearly still struggling with nerves while he sang his lines, and wowwowwow was Tyler glad that he did,

 

     " _To all the possibilities, ooh"_ The boy looked over, and Tyler swore he saw the beginnings of a smile light up his dark eyes,

 

     " _I know,"_ They harmonized and Tyler felt chills as the song began to ramp up,

 

     " _That something has changed,"_ The boy sang, and Tyler didn't even feel worthy to join him in the next line, despite how true it was to him in that moment,

 

     " _Never felt this way,_

 _and right here tonight,"_ as they reached the chorus Tyler felt his heart swell in time with the piano, and he knew that something was happening that was different from anything that had ever happened in the history of everything,

 

    " _This could be the start,_

_of something new,_

_it feels so right, to be here with you, oh,"_ The air felt like electric fire when he inhaled and Tyler was just short of grinning like an absolute idiot as the boy looked at him with such joy as they sang together,

 

     " _And now looking in your eyes,_

_I feel in my heart, feel in my heart,_

_The start of something new."_ Okay. Now Tyler was grinning like an absolute idiot, but so was the boy as they just both beamed at each other with the energy of something Tyler had never felt before in his life,

 

     " _Ooh Yeaaah,"_ Tyler ad-libbed, he had no clue what he was doing, but he knew that he was making this boy laugh and suddenly that seemed like the most important thing in the world,

 

     " _Now who'd have ever thought that... mmm"_ Tyler sang, finding his rhythm as he threw off his blazer to the whoops and cheers of the crowd,

 

     " _We'd be here tonight"_

_"Ooh"_

_"Yeaah"_ They were both cheesing like fools at each other now, as they both felt their inhibitions melt away to the melody of the song and the light of their eyes,

 

     " _And the world looks so much brighter,"_ And okay... now this kid was just showing off as Tyler desperately tried to one up him,

 

     " _Brighter, brighter"_

 _"Oh, with you by my side, my side"_ The chorus kicked up again in tune with the pounding of Tyler's heart,

 

     " _I know that something has changed,_

_never felt this way,_

_I know it for real,_

_This could be the start of something new,_

_It feels so right to be here with you,"_

 

The rest of the song melted away in pure joy as Tyler and the boy played off each other like they had known the other their whole life. When the music died down, and the roar of applause faded enough to give Tyler the ability to hear, he did the only thing he could think of, he extended a once-again-shaking hand, and spoke loudly over the cheers, 

 

     "Tyler," The boy looked up at him with the stars in his eyes as he took Tyler's hand,

 

     "Josh."

 

 

 

 

 

     


	2. 0.2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> meetin and shit, not a lot develops as far as like scenes from the movie but I tried to go kind of in depth with all the feelings n shit, and also introducing a ton of characters. I fucking love Brendon as Sharpay by the way, it gave me so much life writing his parts. Enjoy !

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AYE WADDUP sorry it's Sunday I got into a weird fight with my parents Saturday night and I lost all my desire to write stuff. I SAW TØP ON FRIDAY NIGHT AND IT CHANGED ME MAN I'll let you get to the chapter and then if you want to listen to me ramble about it, I'll put it in at the end !

     All Tyler thought about that night as the fireworks burst outside, the sound muted by the frosted windows, was Josh.

  


_Josh._   


_  
_

They had talked outside for a bit, Tyler eager to stay in contact with the extraordinary boy, practically jumping at the opportunity to exchange numbers. Tyler had been about to ask where Josh lived, but when he turned back the boy had disappeared without a trace.

  


Now all Tyler could focus on was the way their voices had melted together, like chocolate on melted butter on syrup all wrapped up in silk manifesting in one big sickly sweet sugary lump that was lodged in Tyler's chest. His breathing felt tight with regret as he realized that he would never see Josh again. He had no idea where he lived, maybe Tyler would call him and ask, but he had a feeling that what happened tonight could never change into anything more. Flopping facedown onto his bed with a sigh of resignation Tyler closed his eyes, the heavenly tenor of Josh's voice swirling around the room, surrounding all his surrounding as he fell asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  


It was Monday morning again, Tyler had to get out of bed again. He hated this part. He had managed to keep his mind off whatever could have, should have, been with Josh by pushing basketball to the forefront of his mind. The championship game was in two weeks and the East High Wildcats were gonna win it all this year, if Tyler had any say in the matter. Which he guessed he kinda did, he was captain of the team and friends with all of them. The thought of seeing them again was  _just_ enough to convince Tyler to roll out of bed and hop in the shower.

  


The bus ride to school was crazy and loud and annoying, with almost everyone on board squealing and jumping around as they reunited with their friends. Tyler didn't understand the big deal, it was just winter break, plus, if they liked each other that much shouldn't they have just hung out over break? He continued being baffled by all the needless excitement... that was until one Pete Wentz stepped onto the bus.

  


They practically ran at each other, meeting in the middle of the bus with a huge hug, it was slightly uncomfortable given that wedged between them was Pete's trusty basketball that he never went anywhere without. Seriously... he didn't even have a backpack, just the basketball. Tyler wondered how he had made it this far in high school. 

"How was your break, bro? Bang any chicks... or guys," Pete added the 'guys' part quietly with a shit eating grin, given the fact that he was the only person in the world that knew Tyler was bisexual. He'd known Pete since they were in preschool, and letting him in on something that had confused and tormented Tyler for years had been a huge weight off his shoulders,

"Nah, just basketball, I barely even left the gym," Tyler didn't know why he hesitated to tell Pete about Josh, but it probably had to do with the fact that Tyler still didn't know what actually happened between them. And the singing, yeah, Tyler wasn't exactly rushing into telling Pete about that. 

"Boooorrrrinnngg," Pete teased as they sat down, "at least you've got your head in the game for the championships."

  


Tyler nodded, but his mind was still lingering on Josh, an echo of that soaring, flying feeling ringing out in his chest. He had to prove what Pete said right, he had to just forget about Josh and get his head in the game. But  _fuck_ it wasn't gonna be easy. 

When the bus pulled up to the familiar large front area of East High, Tyler steeled himself for a day of catching up with friends, goofing off in class, basketballbasketballbasketball, and most importantly;  _not_ _thinking about Josh._

_  
_

~~~~~~~~ _~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

_  
_

When they exited the bus Tyler was greeted by a flurry of loud cheerleaders, teammates, and just random kids as they all acted like he was a celebrity or something. He saw his friend and teammate Dallon Weekes walking over to them, clapping his hand on Tyler's shoulder and exclaiming,

"Ladies and gentlemen of East High, your captain has arrived," Tyler just rolled his eyes playfully as the small crowd erupted in cheers and applause that Tyler didn't understand why he deserved. He literally just ran around bouncing and throwing a ball... not much to admire. Now, singing like an angel? That was something Tyler could appreciate. Like Josh, they should all be clapping for Josh, not him.

The thought made him smile as he was lead into the building by Pete's arm around his shoulder, and Tyler swore he felt the hall get a little colder as he saw who was approaching. 

Brendon Urie was sashaying down the hall, head buried in his phone, people stopped and gawked at him as he moved with the self given confidence of a God. Tyler thought it was hilarious, I mean sure Brendon was good looking, popular and rich, but he made far too big of a deal about himself which Tyler didn't like at all.

As Brendon approached them, instead of looking up to see where he was going he just thew his arms out to clear a space for himself as he cut through the crowd like a bitchy Moses. Tyler laughed at that right in time with everyone else laughing about how ridiculous Brendon was,

"I bet he spent his holidays how he always does," Pete said, and Tyler knew this was going to be funny,

"How's that?" Dallon asked, humoring him,

"Shopping for mirrors," Pete smirked as the whole group started laughing as they headed for homeroom. 

  


When they got into the classroom Tyler was quick to notice Mr. Way sitting on an over-the-top prop throne that he had probably brought out from the drama department just to make himself seem more important. Tyler rolled his eyes, Mr. Way was so dramatic, and loved to drone on about the 'beauty of the performing arts' and how 'music can change your soul'. After singing with Josh, however, Tyler almost felt like he might actually have a point.

His thoughts were quickly interrupted by the harsh trilling of the warning bell, Tyler sat down on top of his desk and continued catching up with Dallon and Pete.

  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  


To say Josh was nervous was an understatement. His stomach was wrestling with itself as he struggled to keep a pleasant face for the sake of his mom. She was walking with him and his new principal as they headed in the direction of his homeroom,

"Mom, my stomach-"

"Is always nervous on your first day in a new school, you'll be fine Josh. I made my company promise they can't transfer me until you graduate."

Josh faked a smile and tried to steady himself when Principal Trohman spoke,

"I've been looking over your transcripts Mr.Dun, I'm very impressed. I think you'll do very well here at East High,"

Josh guessed Principal Trohman thought that would lift his spirits, but instead it opened up a whole other can of writhing anxious hellbent worms right into his already fucked up stomach,

"Mom, I don't wanna be the school's freaky genius kid again," Josh whined, wishing that somehow this would convince his mom to just let him stay home forever,

"Just be Josh," his mom instilled as she planted a quick, but still embarrassing, kiss to his forehead. Josh smiled, for real this time, as he steadied himself before walking up the stairs, stealing a quick glance back at his mom for reassurance before turning the corner and tentatively walking into his class.

  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  


Tyler was deep in conversation with Dallon about some party when he saw a flash of curly brown hair out of the corner of his eye, it struck him suddenly as his heart leaped into his throat in what was probably the most pathetically fast raising of hopes in the history of the galaxy.

He was about to confirm what could possibly be the luckiest moment of his life, when freaking  _Brendon Urie_ pops up in front of him, an almost annoyingly dazzling smile on his face,

"Hi Tyler!" He chirped, batting his eyelashes as his little sidekick Jack Barakat rolled his eyes, the two were practically twins and never left each other's sides,

"Uh.. Hi" Tyler mumbled, distracted, as he tried to subtly crane over Brendon's  _giant fucking forehead_ to see if he could see if that was in fact who he so desperately hoped it was. Before he could get a good look, the final bell rang and Mr. Way started his morning monologuing, and Tyler turned around reluctantly and sunk into his seat,

"Dude, you alright?" Pete asked, noticing Tyler's weird expression,

"Yeah I'm fine." Tyler tried to tune back in to Mr.Way who was preaching something about the Winter Musicale and sign ups for auditions. His mind was out in space still, and it took everything he had not to steal a glance to the back of the room,

"Mr. Wentz!" Mr. Way exclaimed suddenly catching the attention of Tyler, Pete, and everyone else in the room, "this is a  _classroom,_ not a hockey arena." Pete snorted and tucked his basketball further down into his lap,

"There is also a final sign up for next week's scholastic decathlon, chem club president Patrick Stump can answer all of your questions about that," Patrick Stump raised his hand as high as his little body could, he was super smart and although he never brought it up, Tyler was sure Pete was more than a little gay for him. 

Perhaps just from absorbing some of the excess genius radiating off of Patrick, Tyler suddenly got an idea to find out if he really saw who he thought he saw. Pulling out his phone he scrolled down and dialed the number he had stared at for hours on the journey home. 

The feeling was indescribable, the moment when he heard the phone ring, it was like a roar of hope in his ears and honestly the whole experience was super gay. The moment was cut short however when Mr.Way began chiding,

"Ah, the cellphone menage has returned to our crucible of learning." The whole class was checking their phones to make sure it wasn't their's, but Mr.Way didn't seem to care. If he saw a phone, that phone was evil and he had to take it,

"Brendon, Jack cellphones," Mr.Way demanded, holding out an ugly bucket, "and I will see you in detention." The offended look on Brendon's face was priceless as he and Jack begrudgingly placed their phones in the bucket. Mr. Way continued his mobile tirade as he made his way to the back of the class,

"We have a zero tolerance for cell phones in this class, so we will get to know each other in detention. Cell phone," Tyler saw a hand place a phone into the bucket

"Welcome to East High, Mr. Dun." Tyler's cheeks and heart and  _everything_ were on fire and he didn't even care when Mr.Way snatched his phone away,

"I will see you in detention as well Mr.Joseph." Apparently this bothered Pete even more than it did Tyler,

"That's not even a possibility Mr.Way, your honor, see cause we have basketball practice after school and-"

"That will be 15 minutes for you Mr.Wentz, count 'em," Mr.Way sassed, and Patrick couldn't help but to pipe up,

"That could be tough for Pete, he probably can't count that high," the class chuckled, but they were quickly cut off by Mr.Way,

"Patrick Stump. 15 minutes," poor Patrick looked like he had just been slapped across the face, his jaw hanging open as the rest of the class 'oooooh'd and Mr.Way made his way back to the front of class, facing them all menacingly,

"Holiday's are over people! Way over! Now, any more comments, questions?"

Frank Iero raised his hand from the back of the class,

"Yes, Frank," Mr.Way smiled, a little too friendly in Tyler's opinion,

"How were your holidays, Mr. Way," he shmoozed, and the whole class groaned, Mr. Way kept looking at Frank with a strangely amused look, but before anything weirder could happen the bell rang out. 

Tyler cleared out with the main crowd of people, waiting behind just outside the class, Pete clapped him on the shoulder and apologized for the detention, Tyler's mind was a million miles away and he just nodded as Pete shook his head, smiling, and walked away. 

Tyler realized with a halt that he hadn't put any effort into his look that day, and he found himself cursing Mr. Way for taking his phone and therefore his only mirror. He quickly tried to do  __something, _anything_ to make his hair look somewhat nicer, when a heart stopping head of brown curls finally appeared from the threshold of the door.

Attached to the curly mop of hair was someone Tyler had spent the last 4 days convincing himself he'd never see again.  _Josh_ , Tyler smiled inside and out as he ran up behind Josh and grabbed him by the shoulder,

"Hey!" Tyler exclaimed, eternally thankful for the beaming shark toothed grin that nearly blinded him,

"I don't-" "Believe it!" Their beaming increased tenfold as the situation dawned on him, if he made it out alive without drowning in feels Tyler promised to go to church more to thank God for doing him this solid,

"How is this even possible? How are you here?" Tyler was still stunned, sure that this was some kind of joke, hallucination,  _something._

"My mom's company transferred her to Albuquerque, I can't believe you live here! I looked for you at the lodge the next day, but I couldn't find you anywhere," Josh was smiling so wide and so bright it must have been painful, but neither of them seemed to mind,

"We had to leave first thing. I wanted to call you, but it felt super awkward. I thought I'd never see you again!" Tyler must have been smiling ridiculously wide, he felt the skin around his eyes scrunch up from pure joy,

"Why are you whispering?" Josh asked, as they started to walk down the hall, 

"Well... my friends know about all the snowboarding, but I haven't exactly told them about the whole singing thing," Tyler said, feeling stupid now that he'd said it, it sounded shallow and lame,

"Too much for them to handle?" Josh teased, and it dawned on Tyler that everything was working, everything felt good. This was the longest they had talked and nothing was going wrong, everything felt just as good if not better than that night on New Year's Eve. The feeling was almost overwhelming as it screamed in his ears and his heart and his bones.

"No it was fun! It's just, my friends... it's not really what I do," Tyler tried to dig himself out of the small hole he'd blundered into. It wasn't as easy as he'd thought when he was constantly distracted by how pretty Josh was. He hadn't felt this gay in his entire life, he'd known he was bi when he felt little stirrings seeing cute guys on the street or in movies. But this wasn't a stirring, this was a fucking _tsunami_ and Tyler never wanted to breathe again, content with drowning in the pools of Josh's eyes, and blinding himself in the glitter of his smile.

Tyler was cut off as Josh suddenly veered off to the left, leaving Tyler in the afterglow of just  _talking_ to him. Tyler felt the sensation that was already bubbling his blood and cracking his bones just keep growing as he thought about whether not he could even survive  __holding Josh's hand, kissing him, _fucking him._ Tyler felt like he needed a cold shower then and there as he just stumbled helplessly after Josh. 

"Well, uh, welcome to East High I guess," Tyler cringed internally, being himself had never been such a struggle, possibly because it was taking a good 80% of Tyler's will power to resist grabbing Josh and kissing him right there.

Tyler noticed Josh looking at the sign up sheet for the Winter Musicale,

"Well after you've met Mr. Way I bet you can't wait to sign up for that," Tyler joked, Josh laughed and that itself felt like winning a marathon to Tyler,

"I won't be signing up for anything for a while, I just wanna get to know the school. But if  _you_ sign up, I'd consider coming to the show," Josh laughed, with his eyes as much as his mouth and Tyler was in love,

"Nah that's completely impossible," Tyler said, and in a second Brendon Urie had just popped up out of nowhere,

"What's impossible, Tyler? I wouldn't think impossible was even in your vocabulary," Wow Brendon was laying it on thick, Tyler kinda knew that Brendon had some weird power thing for him, but it had never really bothered him until now, because Josh was right there and the last thing he wanted was for Josh to think that anything was going on between him and  _Brendon Urie,_

 _"_ Oh it's so nice of you to show our new classmate around," Brendon cooed, managing to bat his eyelashes in a manor that was both parts flirty and passive aggressive, directed to Tyler and Josh respectively. Brendon then proceeded to pull out a large, custom bedazzled pink sharpie, turning around theatrically, and signing his name in large obnoxious cursive that took up over half of the sign up sheet for the Musicale.

Brendon turned around and Josh and Tyler quickly paused the silent, amused, conversation they had been having while his back was turned,

"Oh! Where you going to sign up too?" Brendon asked perkily, but his eyes were daring Josh to try and challenge him in any way. It was far too catty for Tyler's liking and he found himself incredibly annoyed,

"Jack and I have starred in every school production, and we love welcoming newcomers! There's  _tons_ of supporting roles in the show!" Tyler hated to admit it, but if there was an Oscar for expertly veiled threats and quips, Brendon would win it hands down. 

"Oh I'm just looking around at all the bulletins, there's lot's going on in this school!" Nevermind. Tyler takes it back, the Oscar goes to Mr. Josh Dun, underneath Josh's chipper tone there was a gleam in his eyes that read loud and clear that he wasn't about to bow down and kiss Brendon's designer shoes. 

"Nice penmanship," Josh said, smiling his megawatt smile as he walked away, and Tyler watched with relish as Brendon's eyes narrowed in frustration, he bet he wasn't used to people not bending to his will. 

Tyler went to make his escape when Brendon reached out and pulled him back,  _gross,_ Tyler thought, but he decided to be nice and humor him,

"So, Tyler, I missed you during vacation, what'd you do?" Brendon was back to batting his lashes and swaying sweetly, the complete opposite of how he'd acted not seconds ago,

"Oh you know, basketball, snowboarding, more basketball," Tyler laughed hoping to just give Brendon what he wanted without expending too much effort, 

"When's the big game?" Brendon continued, refusing to just let Tyler tear out of there as fast as he could 

"Two weeks," Tyler said, hoping the insincerity of his smile gave away how little he wanted to be there, but Brendon was oblivious as he placed a (manicured) hand on Tyler's shoulder,

"Oh, you are just  _so_ dedicated! Just like me!" Tyler laughed along, at the tail end of his patience, "Promise you'll come watch me in the musical?" Brendon crooned, bending his knees just slightly in order to peer up into Tyler's eyes, trying to seem as sweet as possible. Which was pretty much in vain at this point, they both knew what a snake he was.

Tyler just nodded and turned to walk away when Brendon's hand darted out one more time, in a last ditch effort to milk out all the attention from Tyler that he could,

"Toodles!" Brendon chirped, before turning and strutting away like it was suddenly  _America's Next Top Model_ or some shit. Tyler rolled his eyes.

Finally alone with his thoughts for the first time since he got on the bus, Tyler rushed into the 3rd floor bathroom, which hardly anyone ever used, locked himself in the least disgusting stall and leaned back against the wall sinking down slightly as he sighed deep enough for all the oceans.

 __Josh. _Josh was here._ Josh actual fucking Dun was somehow, someway,  _going to his school._ It was unreal, this kind of shit just doesn't happen, and for a second Tyler worried that the universe had just cashed in all his favors for the rest of his life and this was the last lucky thing that would ever happen to him. Tyler realized just how fucked he was when he realized that he didn't even care if that was the case.   


He had Josh, he had a chance, and honestly that was all Tyler could have asked for. He stood up straight in the stall, grabbing a seat protectant and using it to dab the excitement sweat that had developed on his forehead. 

Opening up the stall door, Tyler allowed himself one last sigh, but it felt jittery and uneven and his chest felt tight with something he would never get used to. Stepping back out into the hall and walking down towards the locker rooms for gym, for the first time in his life, Tyler was really looking forward to detention. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT WAS SO FUCKING GOOD WHAT THE FUCK. I've only seen them once before last year at the Fox Theater which was indoors, and so during Car Radio at that show Tyler didn't have anywhere to climb so he just ran around through the lobby and up to the balcony SO CLOSE TO WHERE I WAS. My point being I had never seen Tyler actually climb anything during Car Radio, I've seen videos and shit but nothing prepares you for how terrifying it is to watch it live. I was actually fucking trembling I was so scared he was gonna slip (I legit had a dream about it the night before where he fell and let's just say that was the only moment during the show that I was NOT having a good time) I just worry for my little bean so much bc the frame of the stage was easily over 50 feet tall and I was dying.
> 
> oTHER THAN THAT it was bomb tho and I'm so happy I went, I have work tomorrow and all this week so I'll try to piece together a new chapter by like Friday, and then write a good one over next weekend. After that I have one more free week before I have to go back to school so I'll try and update and maybe even write ahead so I have something to post during the crazy first week or two of school. 
> 
> I HOPE YOU LIKE THIS, I've gotten nothing but good vibes and feedback since posting the first chapter and I really hope that continues and I can turn this into something that satisfies both you guys' need and mine for some dAMN HSM BANDOM ACTION
> 
> k bye stay street stay alive |-/
> 
> (what team)
> 
> (wildcats)


	3. 0.3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> pre audition filler bullshit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just the getcha head in the game part and then the rest of what happens before they audition and stuff. I want to write the audition scene really well so I'm gonna do that over the weekend when I'm done with work.... I worked on this every night a little bit all week so sorry if it doesn't flow together super well as I was in different moods/energy levels and I'm sorry if it's super obvious it was written in different parts. this weekend's chapter will be more focussed and coherent, and then I"m off work until school starts August 15th so I have a ton of time to update more.
> 
> warning: mentions of parental abuse

Normally Tyler lived for gym class, sweaty heart pounding non stop  _basketball._ It was heaven, at least he thought it was until he realized that heaven actually went by the name of Josh Dun,  _and was going to his school._

Tyler was still incredulous at how that had happened. He was also bothered by another thing, still entirely related to Josh Dun (as everything should be); the musicale, should he actually do it? Would Josh do it with him? Tyler likened the feeling of possibly singing with Josh again to when you're in the seat of a rollercoaster and you've pulled the seat down as tight as it can go, and then the operator guy comes by and presses it down and it clicks _one click too tight._ He honestly didn't know if he could continue breathing in spite of his feelings if he ever sang with Josh again. Tyler was rudely brought back to earth by Pete passing his lucky ball suddenly, slamming Tyler in his tight, overwound, one-click-too-tight chest. 

"Yo dude, get your head in the game. What's wrong with you?" Pete's expression was an odd mix of genuine concern and playful teasing, the perfect mix of character traits for a best friend, Tyler thinks before clearing his throat,

"Nothing.. uh but you know the school musical thing?" Tyler was trying to find a nonchalant way to get him social permission to audition, which was fucking pathetic honestly, "Did you hear that you get extra credit just for auditioning?" 

"Who cares?" Pete scoffed and Tyler wanted to crawl into a hole, of course Pete didn't give a fuck about extra credit, the man brings a basketball to school instead of books,

"Well you know it always looks good to have extra credit... for college and stuff," and wow Tyler was really scrambling here, he could tell by the look on Pete's face that he was still on high alert that something was up with him,

"Dude, you think Lebron James or Shaquille O'Neal ever auditioned for their school musical?" and there it was again, Pete's fucking basketball logic, making Tyler feel even more out of place and already drifting so far from what people accepted and expected of him, and he hadn't even done it,

"Maybe?" Tyler's voice cracked and faltered,

" _Tyler."_ Pete was rolling his eyes at him, and Tyler almost felt glad that Pete was content with just making fun of him acting weird, rather than delving into the how's and why's. Because Tyler was most certainly  _not_ ready to try and explain any of that,

"It's not even like hip hop or rock, you know  _music essential to culture._ It's all show tunes and makeup and  _ah,_ " Pete let out a fake shudder, "I don't even want to think about it!"

"Yeah, uh I just thought it might be fun for a laugh.... Brendon's kinda cute too," Tyler was grasping at straws to get out of this and divert it into a joke, or to try and get Pete to believe it was something else,

"Yeah... so's a mountain lion," Pete scoffed, snatching the ball back from where Tyler had been absently holding it, "but you don't pet it."

Pete walked away towards center court and the rest of his teammates, Tyler shook his head, he knew he had dodged a bullet, but he still felt like it had hit him head on. Trying desperately to clear his head and just  _focus_ Tyler called out for the team to start pairing up as he turned to join them.

Tyler noticed the rest of his team start to hum while they began their practice, sometimes they would sing dumb little songs to keep their minds off of their screaming muscles, which Tyler thinks is pretty ironic considering that they didn't want him to do the musical, yet here they were; singing through practice.  _Whatever._

When gym was over, Tyler was gross and drenched in sweat. He felt a bit uncomfortable, for an entirely different reason, while the team had been singing along throughout the period, Tyler had stopped and ad libbed some sappy shit about how right singing felt when it was with Josh. He had seen the looks of confusion, and  _judgement._ Immediately he had gone back to singing the same, safe, tune that they were used to, but the moment was far from forgotten. Pete looked like he wanted to ask about it, but thankfully decided to hold off until a later date. 

Showering quickly, and changing back into his school clothes Tyler still felt that same elation that had been lodged in his ribcage since New Year's Eve, but now it was tainted with insecurity and doubt. How was he going to explore music more, sing more, sing with  _Josh_ more, all while maintaining the person people thought he was and liked? Would he lose all of that if he did what he loved? Did that matter? Tyler wanted to feel as though he could be the bigger person, and just do whatever made him happy no matter what people thought. But he couldn't, at least not yet, he was too weak, too dependent on the acceptance of his peers to take a step in any direction and thus he was left swaying and teetering against the maelstrom of his desires. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Josh was actually genuinely trying to pay attention to the lesson, he loved chemistry. He was damn good at it, and he would have been in nerdy chemistry heaven right now if it weren't for  _Brendon Urie._ After Josh had masterfully played the game of veiled threats and challenges with him, he wasn't exactly in the mood to interact more with what had to be the most conniving bitch in the universe. 

Of course Josh kept this to himself, and just smiled sweetly to Brendon as he opened his bitchy mouth to speak,

"I didn't know you knew Tyler Joseph!" Brendon inquired, but it came off as a challenge by the malicious glint in his eyes,

"Oh no, he was just showing me around the school," Josh smiled back easily, feeling quite a petty feeling of satisfaction from the flash of jealousy in Brendon's eyes. He was also being bombarded with another feeling, he had taken to calling it  _Tyler Joseph_. wow. Josh hadn't felt this on edge and  _floaty_ in his entire life, just this morning he had been considering every trick in the book to convince his mother to let him stay home or just stop high school altogether. Now he was sitting in chemistry with his new public enemy number dun, as he fought to keep the butterflies he felt from turning his well calculated catty smile into a real one,

"Tyler doesn't normally show interest in  _new students_ ," Brendon said those words like they were repulsive, honestly what the fuck was his problem? Josh was seriously considering giving up on the nice guy shit as Brendon just continued testing his damn patience, "it's normally basketball 24/7 with him..." 

Brendon trailed off, and Josh wasted no time catching onto what he was trying to do. Sandbagging Tyler, trying to make him look like some brainless sex crazed jock that Josh should just avoid entirely and leave to someone else.... like Brendon for example. But there was something Josh knew that no one else knew, something that allowed him to roll Brendon's comment right off his back, he knew the Tyler that sang like a wounded angel. His tone and emotion so breathtakingly unique and effortless, Josh kept calm. He knew that if people were their depth, Tyler was the fucking marianas trench, and Brendon was just some glittery, passive aggressive puddle.

Turning back to the board and ignoring Brendon for a moment, Josh found his nerd radar on high alert as his eyes flicked over the board,

"That should be 16 over pi," Josh murmured, apparently louder than he thought as he noticed the fedora boy from his home room, Patrick he thinks, turn to look at him curiously, as well as the teacher,

"What's that, Mr.Dun?" she asked, and instead of sounding offended she just seemed doubtful that she had made a mistake, and suddenly Josh felt his throat constricting lightly as he stuttered,

"I- just uh- sorry um, shouldn't the second equation read 16 over pi?" It sounded like more of a question than he had intended, Josh hated how his voice had tapped out on him like that,

"16 over pi? That's quite impossible," Josh felt his cheeks burning as he faced the prospect of academic humiliation on his first day in a new school, something that was not a new experience for him, but nonetheless still one of his least favorites. She looked down at her calculator, shaking her head mockingly as she checked the equation, perhaps just so she could further embarrass him, but her expression changed to one of surprise and then...  _admiration?_

"I stand corrected," She smiled at Josh warmly as she erased the previous equation to change it, Josh felt that geeky surge of pride, as well as a tsunami of relief that he hadn't stuck his foot in his mouth on the first day for no good reason, "and welcome aboard!"

Josh stole a quick glance over at Patrick who was looking at him with an astounding amount of fondness in his eyes, Josh blushed and turned back around to Brendon, who had his mouth agape in disbelief, before scoffing and prancing off in a huff.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Tyler looked around wildly, making sure no one he knew was around. Burning holes into the sheet with the emotion in his stare, Tyler's eyes trailed to the blank lines beneath Brendon's massive signature. Checking in his pockets for something to write with, Tyler stopped himself. He still had no clue what he was going to do, he still felt angry that he could be so insecure as to let social opinion paralyze him like this, but more overwhelming still was the insecurity himself. It was bubbling in his throat like hot soda, he felt like he was going to throw up in his mouth. 

Folding like some cheap fucking lawn chair, Tyler sighed in resignation and walked off to his next class, still fighting off the waves of doubt induced nausea. 

What he hadn't noticed was Jack Barakat studying his every move, watching Tyler's entire emotional debacle with piqued interest, walking towards the sign up sheet Jack spotted Brendon walking down the hall. Jack grabbed him by his arm, and hauled him over to the bulletin, 

"Tyler Joseph was looking at our sign up sheet," Jack whispered, and the look on Brendon's already pissed off eyes swapped to one of suspicion in a split second,

"Again?" Jack just nodded as he watched the pink bedazzled gears turning at max speed inside Brendon's head,

"You know.. he was checking it out with that new guy, Josh, and they were  _both_ looking at the list," With the way Brendon had spat out Josh's name like it was poison, Jack knew something was already going on, "Where  _did_ she say she was from again anyways?" 

He had a strange look in his eyes as he twirled around and started down the haul, without so much as a second glance at Jack, leaving him to just sigh lightly as he turned and followed his diabolically narcissistic best friend to wherever his ego was hauling him. 

 

Brendon's little expedition led them into the library, he plopped down in front of an ancient looking Dell computer and impatiently opened up a web browser, Jack just watched curiously over Brendon's shoulder,  _Joshua Dun._ Brendon hit the enter key and sat back as if expecting the darkest secrets of a high school junior to be revealed with a single fucking google search.

Evidently Jack was proven wrong as the first page of results were all articles about how Josh was apparently some fucking whiz kid boy genius that had won  _and broken the record_ of his last school's scholastic decathlon competition,

"Wow he's a fucking genius," Jack whispered in awe, before a death glare from Brendon forced him to trace back his steps, "Why do you thin he's interested in our school musical?" 

"I'm still not sure that he is," Brendon said distractedly, shaking his head before looking up at Jack, "We needn't concern ourselves with amateurs, but I think it would still be good to make sure that Josh is welcomed into school activities that well... suit him." Brendon gave him a grin that would have made a fox seem honest as he clicked to print out several copies of the article. Jack felt himself smiling in admiration... you had to hand it to him, Brendon was damn good at being a sneaky little bitch. And he loved it.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 _4:00._ Tyler can't believe he finally made it to detention. He also thought he'd never think that sentence ever in his entire life, he's talking with Pete while half heartedly painting a set, looking over at Josh as he swirled little strokes of silver paint onto a giant wooden moon. He was having a grand old time just staring blatantly at Josh, before the short frame of Patrick Stump disrupted his view,

Away from Tyler's earshot Patrick was practically beaming with excitement as he grabbed Josh by the hands and smiled at him,

"Yes! The answer is yes!" he squealed, looking as if someone had just handed him the sun, Josh made some involuntary confused sound as he looked at Patrick incredulously, what was this little boy on about? 

"Our scholastic decathlon team has it's first competition next week, and there's definitely a spot for you!" Patrick said this like it was the best news in the world, but all Josh could wonder was how the fuck Patrick knew that he competed? Then Josh noticed the article in his hand, he recognized it because there was another print out still pinned to his fridge at home,

"How did you get that?" Josh asked, his heart pounding, he felt embarrassed, and on top of that he felt ashamed for being embarrassed about being smart, but this was exactly what he had told his mom he didn't want to happen,

"Didn't you put them in my locker?" Patrick asked, sensing that there was now something wrong with the situation,

"No of course not," Josh sighed, a terrified look in his eyes, Patrick just smiled at him and said,

"Well we'd still love to have you on our team, we meet almost every day after school. Please? Our team fucking sucks, we could really use you," and okay, Patrick was laying it on thick here, his round eyes widened in wonder as he even batted his eyelashes for exaggeration,

"I-I need to catch up on the curriculum here first, before I get into any clubs-"

 _Once-a-fucking-gain_ Brendon Urie popped up out of no where,

"Well what a perfect way to get adjusted don't you think? Hanging out with the smartest kids in school! What a generous offer Taylor!" Brendon spoke with such fake sugarcoated glee that Josh instantly knew that he was behind this somehow, he looked over at Patrick and saw amusingly that he was rolling his eyes as well. Maybe they could be end up being friends. 

Brendon was still standing around smiling, scratch that,  _snarling_ at the two boys when Mr.Way appeared like a vision in fire engine red,

"So many new faces in detention today!" He drawled, giving Josh a disapproving look, "I hope you don't make a habit of it,  _but_ the drama club could always use an extra hand! And while we're working let us discuss the mounting evil of cell phones..." 

 

Mr.Way began to drone on as Tyler sat perched in a fake tree, he was quite content with messing around with Pete while looking at Josh as often as he humanly could, until he saw his dad storming down through the seating of the theater.  _Oh fuck. Practice._

 _"_ Where's my team, Way?" Tyler's dad, who he probably referred to more often as Coach Joseph, looked seriously ticked off, "Why the hell are those two sitting in a tree?" As he reached the edge of the stage it was even more obvious how just how angry he was, any normal man would have backed down and apologized, but Mr.Way just scoffed,

"It's called crime and punishment, Joseph," Mr.Way explained, as if that would just instantly quell his anger, "Plus, proximity to the arts is cleansing for the soul!" 

Fire burned in Coach's eyes as he struggled to remain calm, Tyler knew how bad things could get at home when his dad fails to remain calm, he made such a big deal out of basketball, and sometimes it terrified Tyler,

"Can we talk, please?" His voice as shaking with anger, he turned to glare at Tyler and Pete, "You two, in the gym. Now." With that he stormed off, with Mr.Way in casual pursuit, as if he wasn't dealing with the scariest man Tyler had ever known, but rather a soft kitten that was whining about something it wanted. Tyler felt a surge of appreciation and respect for Mr.Way, he could never in a million years stand toe to toe with his father like that.

Pete was clambering out of the tree, dragging Tyler along with him as he waved a hasty goodbye to Josh, who looked quite embarrassed for him. Tyler thought it was very cute and gave him a reassuring smile as he exited the theater.

 

Practice was intense, Coach Joseph seemed to be channeling his anger into pushing the team farther than ever, Tyler was relieved by this and hoped that he would be calm by the time they got home. The natural catharsis of screaming at teenagers seemed to work like a charm and because of the exceptional effort Tyler had put in to try and make things better, the ride home at 6:00 was nearly free of tension between them. Tyler sighed with gratefulness at the bullet he had dodged.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Josh and Patrick stuck together for the rest of detention after the whole incident with Tyler's dad, Josh thought he seemed super scary and he felt really bad for Tyler when he had left the theater looking terrified. He had tried to push thoughts and worries for Tyler out of his head and instead talked endlessly with Patrick, discovering that they had a ton of things in common. 

When detention ended they walked across campus towards the buses, and Patrick brought up the decathlon again,

"Come on Josh, we really need someone like you, we've never even made it past the first round!" Josh felt bad, he truly did, he really wanted to join the team and he knew he could help them out a lot, but he had promised to do things right at this school,

"I think I'm just going to focus on my studies this semester, and helping my mom get the house organized. Maybe next year," Josh trailed off as he hoped this would be enough for Patrick to drop the subject for now, but he decided to make sure that they talked about something else,

"Um... What do you know about Tyler Joseph?" Josh felt his stomach lurch like a dog spotting a squirrel, he was so fucked, Patrick had this amused look on his face,

"Tyler? Hmm... I'm not a particular expert on that particular subspecies of jock, but luckily I can speak a bit of cheerleader," Patrick's eyes danced mischievously as he approached a group of cheerleaders,

"Oh my god! Isn't Tyler Joseph, like, the hottest hottie in the whole world!!!" Josh almost lost it with laughter as the circle of girls erupted in giggles and squeals at the mere  _mention_ of Tyler's name. They kept walking, leaving behind them a wake of flustered teenage girls,

"I guess I should learn how to speak cheerleader!' Josh laughed, Patrick smiled widely at him,

"That's why people like us exist separately from the world of Tyler the basketball boy." Patrick was still laughing, but Josh faltered a bit, he had wanted to know everything about Tyler, but it seems like everyone thinks the same thing of him. A larger than life careless jock that thought of nothing but sports, it made Josh feel special, because apparently it had taken him no more than 10 minutes on New Year's Eve to learn more about who he actually is than anyone in his hometown. 

Josh wanted to know all about the real Tyler, the Tyler that sang with all the tremors and cracks and rasps of a life long smoker angel hybrid, the Tyler that had kept Josh up for days on end wishing and wanting, the Tyler that made him want to vomit with joy when Josh saw him this morning.

Josh wanted to know the Tyler that he met that night. The Tyler that was the start of something new. 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aLSO OVER 200 HITS i'm v happy with that and it really makes me want to keep writing this and write other stuff in the future as well yay.
> 
> also i'm gonna add the tag and put warnings at the top before i post this but i added in that tyler's dad gets really angry and abusive towards him sometimes. It's not physical just verbal, and I seriously doubt it'll ever be like described or actually happen in a chapter but if for some reason that changes I'll for sure put in a warning. Nothing spices up disney like familial angst.
> 
> Next chapter will hopefully be up Sunday or Monday and be better than this super short piece of filler trash.

**Author's Note:**

> wtf what kind of regret it is 2:21 AM I should have just waited for Saturday but I couldn't help it oops I already have 3 comments that's super weird but like super cool so yeah hope whoever reads this enjoys. and on that note chapter 2 will probably be up on Saturday or whatever and maybe 3 on Sunday if there's like good feedback and stuff. goodnight stay street lmao


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